An American man, who is banned from carrying a firearm, was reportedly found with a gun in his rectum after undergoing a strip search, according to reports.

According to Mirror UK, Christopher Boyd, 32, was riding in a vehicle pulled over by the police for having an obscured licence plate in Evansville city, Indiana on Monday at around 2 am. The driver and another passenger were both released without charge after being searched by police.

But police found a “small bag with multiple pills” hidden in Boyd’s right sock when they searched him, a police report stated. He claimed at the time they were Percocet pills from “Aunt Trish”, which he was taking to relieve the pain from a bullet which was “lodged in his spine”.

Boyd allegedly “tensed up” when the search of his body reached the “groin area” police said – with the man claiming he could not spread his legs due to a spinal injury. When the police asked if Boyd had “anything stuffed in his groin or buttocks” he denied he did.

He reportedly walked with a limp and appeared to be “clenching his buttocks” when the police took him to the county jail to undergo a search and questioning.

When he was put through a body scanner, police say a “large object” was detected in his groin area.

When conducting another strip search of Boyd’s groin the police reportedly unearthed two bags of marijuana – illegal in Indiana – “tucked next to Boyd’s scrotum”. He allegedly “tensed up and refused to comply and was lowered to the ground”, before a police officer took down Boyd’s trousers in order to take out the item – but Boyd continued to clench his buttocks.

The officer could, reportedly, nonetheless see that a handgun was in Boyd’s rectum, and the gun was removed thereafter.

The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard, 3.80 calibre pistol was reportedly not stolen and it is unclear whether it was loaded. The gun is around 12 ounces in weight and five inches long.

It is a “lightweight” and “simple to use” gun which is “perfectly suited for concealed carry”, the manufacturer’s website states.